Carolina Hurricanes: Three Things to Look Forward to in 2021

The Arrival of Ryan Suzuki

Now I know what you are thinking, next season is way too early for Ryan, who is still 18 to make the transition to the NHL, and you would be correct. The OHL superstar, and former teammate to current NHL superstar Andrei Svechnikov, probably isn’t going to make his NHL debut to start the 20-21 season, but he probably has played his final game in the OHL.

Chances are that he will play a season in Charlotte to feel him out against AHL/NHL speed players before diving him into the top hockey league in the world, not unlike Martin Necas. With his contract on a slide and the Hurricanes looking to pay guys like Svech and Dougie Hamilton next offseason, don’t be surprised to see Suzuki remain in the AHL.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t be called up here or there. In fact, when 2021 finally comes around, we might just get to see what Suzuki can do in the NHL, if not with a late-season call-up, then with him making the roster out of training camp for the 2021-2020 season.

I mean, who isn’t excited to see this talent come up to Raleigh?

I know I am.

Uninterrupted Playoff Race

Now for the real stuff. Can we be honest with ourselves, the thing that sucks the most about this global crisis is the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes had finally found their identity again. They were on a three-game winning streak. They stole the first wildcard spot and were in the hunt for third in the metro.

Then the world came to a screeching halt and hockey just… stopped.

I don’t know about yall, but the biggest reason this Coronavirus halt to sports hurt is because, for the first time since the David Ayres game, I felt a reason to believe in the Carolina Hurricanes again.

2021 will give us back the one thing we didn’t even realize we valued until this year, an uninterrupted playoff race. That’s right, a complete race to the end. If that end is 82 games or less, we will find out. But regardless of the number of games played to complete the season, it will be a complete season and everyone who comes out the other end in a playoff spot will have earned it.

Perhaps the Carolina Hurricanes will be able to do so without having their all-star players riddled with injuries. Perhaps when the race comes around next season, the Carolina Hurricanes will be in a spot to defend a lead in the rankings instead of trying to make one shrink.

We will have to wait until 2021 to find out.

Stadium Series

Yall forgot. Shame on yall. How can you forget the fact that one of the greatest games to be played by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021 will happen outside and across the street?

The Stadium Series game still hasn’t been given its opponent for the 2021 matchup, but chances are it will be the Pittsburgh Penguins with the way that John Forslund and others within the organization have spoken about the game.

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Now the Penguins have fans that travel well and it would fill Carter-Finley with a bit too much yellow for my comfort, but to beat Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on one of the largest outdoor stages in the league and on National Television would be well worth the ticket.

Personally I think that Tampa would be a much more interesting opponent. A battle of the elements, BOLTS vs CANES. Which force of nature is more powerful?!

Regardless of the opposition, let’s all agree that the Stadium Series will be a highlight of next season. It will be a much-anticipated event across all of the southeastern United States and will help put the Carolina Hurricanes on the map.

Now imagine if it snowed that day? Canadians would be extremely confused.

So there you have it folks, three really good reasons to look forward to 2021, outside of the fact that 2020 has been so horrible, that we might as well strike it from the history books and tell our grandkids that we just skipped from 2019 to 2021 for uh… math reasons.